A project fostering understanding, disseminating historical and cultural knowledge and creating friendships between the Jewish and Persian peoples.

Jewish and Persian Connections Mission

In response to statements emanating from the Middle East regarding nuclear threat to both the Jewish and Persian peoples, we seek to project an alternative voice on Jewish- Persian relations that disseminates knowledge about the historical and cultural ties between these two peoples, fosters friendship and openings for creative exchange, and contributes to the identity of adults and children of mixed Jewish and Persian ancestry.

Seeking Your Personal Stories and Intellectual Contributions!

Please submit your personal writings on the following topics: a) Relationships between Persians and Jewsb) Raising a Persian Jewish childC) Historical and/or current affairs between Persians and Jews/ Iran and IsraelD) Current Debate: Is the current conflict between Iran and Israel inherently tied into the Israeli- Palestinian conflict?All submissions welcome including poetry, links and other recommendations. Please email any submissions to tiffanyssf@aol.com. Authors are responsible for providing respectful, factually accurate, and fully citated submissions as a pre-requisite for inclusion. Articles should be a minimum of 2 paragraphs in length up to a maximum of 10 pages. Please use proper citation when referencing another writer or speaker. Assume no specific religious knowledge and explain all references to any religions. Translate all non-English words used, including Farsi, Hebrew, Arabic, Ladino or Yiddish. Writers wishing to anonymously post may use their first name only. Please send all submissions to tiffanyssf@aol.com. All information outside of your submission will remain strictly confidential including your email and contact information. Thank you for your contributions!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Iran's Holocaust Cartoon Exhibition

An international contest of cartoons on the Holocaust has opened in Tehran in response to the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper last September.

More than 200 entries from Iran and abroad are on display

The exhibition, launched on Monday, shows 204 entries from Iran and abroad.

Masoud Shojai, head of the country's "Iran Cartoon" association and the fair organiser, said that "we staged this fair to explore the limits of freedom Westerners believe in".

He said: "They can freely write anything they like about our prophet, but if one raises doubts about the Holocaust he is either fined or sent to prison."

At the opening ceremony of the month-long fair in Tehran's Palestine contemporary art museum, Shojai said: "Though we do not deny that fact that Jews were killed in the [second world] war, why should the Palestinians pay for it?"

He added that around 1,100 cartoons were submitted by participants from more than 60 countries and that more than 200 are on show.

Prize money

One cartoon by Indonesian Tony Thomdean shows the statue of liberty holding a book on the Holocaust in its left hand and giving a Nazi-style salute with the other.

Muslims angered by the Danishcartoons protested worldwide

Shojai said the top three cartoons will be announced on September 2, with the winners being awarded prizes of 12,000, 8,000 and 5,000 dollars respectively.

He did not elaborate on the source of the prize money, but emphasised that it did not come from any governmental body.

The fair is being staged by Iran Cartoon and the country's largest selling newspaper Hamshahri, which is published by Tehran's conservative municipality.

The contest was announced in February after caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were first printed in Denmark and then picked up and published worldwide, enraging Muslims.

Many Muslims considered the cartoon offensive and a violation of traditions prohibiting images of the prophet.

The entries on display came from nations including the United States, Indonesia and Turkey.

Holocaust revisionists

About 50 people attended the exhibition's opening.

Zahra Amoli said: "I came to learn more about the roots of the Holocaust and the basis of Israel's emergence."

Iran's fiercely anti-Israeli regime is supportive of so-called Holocaust revisionists, who maintain that the systematic slaughter by the Nazis of mainland Europe's Jews and other groups during World War II was either invented or exaggerated.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, has also prompted international anger by dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" used to justify the creation of Israel.

About Founder

As the daughter of an Iranian Muslim father and Israeli Jewish mother, I was born to care about the relationship between Jews and Persians. At times confusing, at times miraculous, this unique combination has given me the insights to love the stranger within and question cultural and religious stereotypes.
I have always been passionate about Human Rights and have worked and studied in international relations, development, education and international business. My graduate degree as well as various life experiences from living abroad and travelling in the Middle East created the impetus within me to become an active creator of the destiny of my peoples.